Instructors

Fit & Bendy Instructors

Aubre Hill

Aubre Hill is an international dance artist, choreographer, master teacher and event producer. Her training includes extensive years in Raqs Sharqi Bellydance, Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary, Hiphop, Musical Theatre, Pilates, and Folk dance. This training helped develop a style original to Aubre’s artistic voice, which gave her a place onstage with the Bellydance Superstars and countless other theatre and concert productions. Performing across Europe, Egypt, Asia, and North America, she has become one of the most sought after dance artists, including residences at the Folies Bergere, acclaimed guest artist for “Fuse the World,” and her own show on the Discovery channel.

With over 27 years of teaching experience, Aubre brings a nurturing and inspiring approach to her students. Honoring their own bodies and experiences while learning new tools of awareness, musicality, cultural nuance, and expression, her students learn how to develop their own voice in their own art. Empowerment through rigorous training, healthy honesty, and wonderful challenge, her classes are unique and addicting in the best ways possible.

Cati Jean

Originally from The south of France, Cati Jean leads her career from Los Angeles. International teacher and Choreographer in the industry, as well as the theatre, her style is fluid, sensual, intense and touching. She has been developing her own technique based on the 5 elements, connected to the balance, dynamic et priorities of dance. This technique welcomes the artist to find his/her unique vocabulary and to surpass himself/herself. Cati, also concentrates on developing “The actor” within the “Dancer” with a very organic and natural way, using “Stanislavski technique” Sense memory. From the stage to the studio, she gives her whole body and soul, in order to share her passion.

Cati has performed alongside many world renown artists such as Toni Braxton, Ricky Martin, Paula Abdul, Jay-Z, Tina Turner, to name a few. She has also choreographed for popular television shows, films, and live shows as well as world tours.

Lily Huang

Lily began her flexibility journey in 2009 while taking pole dancing classes. When she moved to San Francisco in 2011, she started taking contortion classes at several of the circus schools in the Bay Area. Once she moved to Los Angeles, she sought out Kristina Nekyia and Fit & Bendy based on the recommendation of one of her instructors.

Lily joined the Fit & Bendy team in 2015 as one of the first certified instructors and has helped many others in their flexibility training the same way that Fit & Bendy has helped her. As she continues to guide others with their flexibility journey, she is also conquering her own training and flexibility goals!

“It’s taken years (with a baby thrown in there), but I can now do middle splits without having to give myself a 10 minute pep talk and lots of moaning and groaning. In fact, now I’ve got a pretty solid over middle split!”

Lena Fumi

Lena has been training contortion under Fit & Bendy since October of 2013 at the age of 36. She has a background in classical ballet, jazz, modern dance, and had (in her much younger years) the opportunity to train with the San Francisco Ballet and members of the Joffrey ballet.

As an adult, her career took a different path into Technology/Engineering support, but she continued to dance and find new ways of exploring movement, while staying creative and agile outside of the office. After taking up pole dancing, she wanted to gain some flexibility to challenge herself in new ways and enhance her performance skills. This is when she followed a friend to a Fit & Bendy class. It changed her life in so many ways! Lena became one of the first certified Fit & Bendy instructors in 2015 and is currently also a working professional contortionist and aerialist aside from teaching.

Sophie Cook

Raised in South Florida, Sophie has always had a strong desire to be an entertainer. She started out as a classical ballet dancer then was introduced to contemporary, lyrical, jazz, and hip hop dance later on in life; she fell in love with the freedom of movement for all of these styles.

While studying for her bachelors in Business at Florida International University, Sophie became a part of the Miami Heat Dance Team from 2010-2013; the four time most popular dance team in the NBA.

Sophie is recognized for performing alongside well-known artists such as Ginuwine, Pitbull, Chris Brown, Jay Sean, Daddy Yankee, Prince Royce and many more. She has also appeared in commercials, television shows, and movies like AT&T, Nascar, Parks & Recreations, and ‘Rock of Ages’ starring Tom Cruise.

Kyla Carter

Kyla Carter is a professional shapeshifter. She is a contortionist, pole dancer, and plays with other oddities. Her background in rhythmic gymnastics lead her to the magical world of cirque at the age of 13. At the age of 15 she got the lovely opportunity to perform with Cirque Du Soleil. Growing up around the circus gave her an outlet to let her freak flag fly without judgement.

“I have been contorting for about a decade now. I recently realized that the path I chose is the best long term relationship I’ve ever had. Trials and tribulations were well communicated and met with love and patience. This resulted in such a beautiful and limitless experience with the body I’m in. Working with my body in such an extreme has allowed me to create a relationship where I don’t feel trapped in my vessel. I am a limitless orb of energy shapeshifting my way through this world. I started working with Kristina in September 2018. She took one look at my body while I was stretching my splits and helped me adjust what I have had issues with for years. She gave me a new positive relationship with my hip flexors. I feel connected to my body even more now! I am so happy to be a part of the Fit and Bendy Team.”

Brynn Route

Brynn Route is a contortion-trained pole artist based in Los Angeles. She has over 17 years of a combined background in gymnastics, acrobatic pole, and movement. Brynn discovered circus arts and was immediately hooked when she realized it could combine her childhood training in gymnastics with her love of artistic expression. Her passion for performance has taken her around the world and has provided her opportunities to collaborate with artists from all walks of life. She is honored and grateful to be able to share what she loves through performance and workshop instruction.

Sioux ZQ

Sioux ZQ is a Los Angeles based performing artist and instructor, currently completing her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree at CSUN. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in World Arts & Cultures – Dance from UCLA, and a Master’s degree in Film & TV Production from USC. She began training dance in 1997, aerial in 2010, and pole in 2012. She has taught dance and circus fitness classes for 6 years at studios throughout Los Angeles, including Artistic Athletics, InFit, and Luscious Maven.

Sioux’s obsession with dance science, anatomy, and injury rehabilitation led her to the world of physical therapy. She has worked successfully in the clinical setting as a PT Aide and a DPT intern, and plans to work as a physical therapist specializing in dance and circus artists upon completion of her doctorate Sioux took her first class at Fit and Bendy in 2015, and immediately fell in love with Kristina’s intelligent approach to contortion training, incorporating it into her physical therapy practice.

Lexi Powell

Lexi is a firm believer in the power of movement to nourish the soul. She received her B.S. in Kinesiology from Cal State University Fullerton and since then has been fortunate to travel the world sharing her love for fitness as a trainer and health coach. Over the past 10 years, she has taught everything from kickboxing and spin to Pilates, strength & conditioning, and high intensity interval training. She also frequently serves as guest faculty to her alma mater’s Kinesiology program. She discovered her love for dance in 2010, and circus, while teaching fitness in the Caribbean in 2015.

This introduction of movement as a performance art heightened her understanding and appreciation of just how powerful movement is. Since returning to California, her focus has been to grow her movement repertoire, allowing for a more genuine and creative expression of the body. She began training contortion with Fit and Bendy, took her aerial practice to a new personal level, and incorporates what she has gained from parkour, acrobatics, dance, handstands, martial arts, flow artistry and more, into her teaching philosophy. Combining her love for performance arts with her passion for fitness, Lexi applies her knowledge to assist dancers, circus artists, and movers of all fashions discover their most authentic self-movement.

Janaye Thurston

Born and raised in Miami Florida, Janaye Thurston’s love for dance started when she began performing with her local church. Her passion for the arts grew as she became involved with her community dance team, leading to her enrollment in a dance magnet program and her schools’ band dance line.

Janaye was later accepted to the renown New World School of the Arts as a Dance major. She however received an opportunity to be a part of the Miami Heat Dance Team and made the decision to pursue her dream as a professional dancer. This was only the beginning of her thriving career as a performer. Janaye’s talent opened doors to touring the world with well-known artists like Luis Fonsi and Yandel, following into her recent relocation to Los Angeles, California. Learning and appreciating the importance of freedom within movement and the body, she yearns to share her love of dance and the beauty of what the partnership between music and the body can allow for the mind.